Bio & Incident Details

Sergeant Keith Ferguson died when he suffered a heart attack while running to assist an officer who was chasing a suspect.

Sergeant Ferguson was on patrol in lower Manhattan as a part of the NYPD anti-terrorism unit when he heard a foot patrol officer calling for assistance. The officer was chasing a suspect who he had attempted to arrest. Sergeant Ferguson was responding to the scene when his vehicle got stuck in heavy traffic. Sergeant Ferguson exited his vehicle and began to run to the location where the officer needed assistance. When Sergeant Ferguson arrived on the corner of Broadway and Grand Street, with several other officers who had responded to the call, he collapsed on the trunk of a vehicle.

Sergeant Ferguson's partners gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions while racing to St. Vincent's Hospital Center. Doctors there were unable to revive Sergeant Ferguson.

Sergeant Ferguson had served with the New York City Police Department for 17 years. He is survived by his father, a retired New York City police officer, and his mother. He was assigned to ESU Truck 7 where he supervised an elite "Hercules Team", which scouts terror-prone areas.

In June 2005, Sergeant Ferguson was posthumously awarded the New York City Police Department's Purple Shield Medal.